Hands-On Grammar

Please note: The grammar rules, spelling conventions, and examples in this article refer specifically to the German language and are intended for use in German-language primary school classrooms.

Grammar does not have to be abstract. When children can see, touch, and rearrange the parts of a sentence, the rules stop being rules and start being patterns they discover for themselves.

Sentence strips

Write each word of a German sentence on a separate strip of card. Give the strips to children and ask them to arrange a grammatically correct sentence. Then ask: what changes if we move the verb? What if we add an adjective? Sentence strips make grammar visible and make the consequences of change immediate.

Colour-coding word classes

German grammar uses colour-coding as a teaching convention: nouns in blue, verbs in red, adjectives in yellow. Apply this consistently across all grammar work throughout the year. Children develop automatic associations — blue means noun — that reduce cognitive load when analysing sentences.

The sentence as a building site

Introduce the idea of a sentence as a construction project. The verb is the foundation — it must be there. The noun (subject) is the wall. Adjectives are the paint. Children who understand the function of each element can both analyse existing sentences and construct new ones more confidently.

Kinaesthetic grammar

Assign children to roles: one child is the subject, one is the verb, one is the object. They stand in a line and physically rearrange themselves to explore word order in German. German has more flexible word order than English, and experiencing this physically helps children feel the rhythm of the language.

Error analysis

Give children sentences with deliberate errors and ask them to find and fix the problem. This is more engaging than correction exercises and requires genuine understanding rather than pattern-matching. Discuss why the corrected version works — not just that it does.